Bradenton's Wallenda wins award at Sunday's Emmys

   Apparently, Manatee County residents weren't the only ones who thought Nik Wallenda's walk across the Grand Canyon was the coolest thing on TV in the past year.
   The CBS Emmy Awards website invited the public to vote for the "Top TV Moment of the Year." During Sunday's Emmy broadcast, Wallenda's walk was announced as the winner.
   "He doesn't get an Emmy, but he does get the honor of winning this vote," said Wallenda's manger, Winston Simone. "And it's quite an honor, because he won over some really significant television moments, such as the last episode of 'The Office.' "
   The site gave the public 10 choices for best moment. Besides Wallenda's walk and "The Office," they were the Bob Marley Tribute at the Grammy Awards, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Superbowl blackout, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the Golden Globe Awards show, the "Mother" episode of "How I Met Your Mother," the "Red Wedding" episode of "Game of Thrones," Hurricane Sandy coverage and a Kristen Wiig's farewell on "Saturday Night Live."
   A comment about the poll  appeared on Wallenda's Facebook page Friday afternoon: "We did it! 'Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda' won Emmy's top TV moment of the year! Thank you friends, family, and fans for all of your support! I couldn't have done it without you guys! Never give up!"
   "Skywire Live" was the title of the Discovery Channel's live coverage of Wallenda's 22-minute high-wire walk some 1,500 feet above the bottom of the Grand Canyon on a high wire on June 24. He was the first person to attempt that crossing and about 21-million people watched and listened as he completed the walk.
   Wallenda's next scheduled walk will be with his sister, Lijana Wallenda Hernandez. They will perform a dual walk 140 feet off the ground prior to the start of the Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Oct. 12.
   They'll begin from opposite ends of a 500-foot cable, crossing paths along the way.

   The speedway walk will be about one-third the length and one-seventh the height of the Grand Canyon crossing. But Wallenda, who lives in Bradenton, said crossing speedway carries its own challenges.

“We take every walk seriously, whether it's 20 feet off the ground or 200 feet," he said. "You can't let up for a second.”

    
  

Meet Nik Wallenda at Selmon's in Sarasota

Nik Wallenda

   Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda will be at Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant in Sarasota on Monday, June 17 for a "meet and greet" event. He'll sign autographs and let you take his picture, just six days before his planned quarter-mile walk 1,500 feet above the Grand Canyon on June 23.
   He's scheduled to be at the restaurant starting at 7 p.m. Lee Roy Selmon's is at 8253 Cooper Creek Blvd., Sarasota. For information, call 941-360-3287 or visit www.leeroyselmons.com.


   

Sarasota's Nick Wallenda guests on "Wait Wait"

   Sarasota tightrope walker Nik Wallenda is the guest contestant on NPR's "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me" this week. He's on the "Not My Job" segment playing a game called "Whoops."

Wallenda

   The episode featuring Wallenda aired Saturday morning, but it repeats at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 9, on WUSF-FM, 89.7. You can also hear it by downloading the podcast here. (The "Wait Wait" podcast usually becomes available late Sunday or early Monday.) Or you can listen online here.
   Wallenda is preparing to cross the Grand Canyon June 23. He'll walk about 1,500 across the canyon, about 1.500 feet above the ground.

Watch Wallenda's canyon cross at a Sarasota soiree

   People all around the world will be watching on June 23 as Nik Wallenda traverses the Grand Canyon on a tightrope.
   It'll be a bigger celebration in Bradenton and Sarasota than almost anywhere else, as the area watches its local hero make history once again.
   One great place watch will be on Lemon Avenue in Sarasota at the second annual "Wallenda - Beyond Belief Viewing and Street Party" sponsored by Mattison's City Grille and Circus Sarasota.
   Wallenda is preparing to walk about 1,500 feet -- more than a quarter-mile -- across the canyon. He'll be about 1,500 feet off the ground. (For reference, the Empire State Building is 1,434 feet tall.)

Wallenda walks the wire

   Last year, Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls at a height of 200 feet. He was wearing a safety harness then, at the insistence of the network that aired the event. This time he won't be.
   The party's free and open to the public. It's set for 7-11 p.m. Sunday, June 23,  on Lemon Avenue between Main Street and First Avenue, in front of Mattison's.
   Besides a Jumbotron video screen that will show live coverage of the walk, the party will feature circus activities, street vendors, a raffle and a live auction.
   A VIP area offers reserved seating and a three-course menu from Mattison's. VIP tickets are $100 per person or $1000 for a table of eight. For VIP tickets, contact the Circus Sarasota Development Office at 941-355-9335 or mark@circussarasota.org. More details are online at www.mattisons.com or www.circussarasota.org.

Nik Wallenda Sarasota skywalk coverage: story, photos, video, archive

Nik Wallenda looks up minutes before starting skywalk 180 feet over U.S. 41 in Sarasota. Photo by Wade Tatangelo

Nik Wallenda crossed roughly 600 feet of open space at a height of 180 feet Tuesday from a crane positioned by the Unconditional Surrender statue to the top of the Marina Tower building in downtown Sarasota.

Nik Wallenda overcomes '30-mph winds' during skywalk over U.S. 41 in Sarasota (final version)

Gallery: Nik Wallenda walks the wire in Sarasota

Videos: Nik Wallenda before his Sarasota wire walk 

Bradenton.com/wallenda

Sarasota set for Nik Wallenda sky walk over U.S. 41

Nik Wallenda walks a tightrope in the rain during a training session for his stunt in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Gary Wiepert / AP.

Sarasota is ready for its big day.

The city will close U.S. 41 between Ringling Blvd.and the John Ringling Causeway in downtown Tuesday while Sarasota native and world-famous aerialist Nik Wallenda walks over the highway from the bayfront to Marina Tower on a high wire without a safety harness.

The closure is expected to occur from 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., with the event scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Traffic congestion is expected from 9 a.m. until noon. Road closure signs will be posted and motorists should follow the detour signs. Traffic will remain open to and from St. Armands Circle and the barrier islands.

Due to a public safety perimeter which will be established, public parking near the bayfront will be limited. Spectators are encouraged to walk to the event or park their vehicles in the Palm Ave. Garage. A free trolley also will shuttle spectators roundtrip from the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall parking lot at 777 N. Tamiami Trail to the event, with a drop-off at the intersection of Cocoanut Avenue and Gulfstream Avenue. The trolley will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Sarasota City Commission unanimously approved Wallenda’s skywalk without a tether during its last regular meeting this past Tuesday, providing Wallenda received approval from the Florida Department of Transportation which oversees U.S. 41., and offers a satisfactory statement indemnifying the City of Sarasota. The Commission also waived the special event permits for the skywalk totaling approximately $6,000-$8,000, according to a recent press release issued by the City of Sarasota.

Circus Sarasota is the sponsor of Wallenda’s "Sarasota Skywalk."

Aerialist Nik Wallenda to wire walk over U.S. 41 in Sarasota

Aerialist Nik Wallenda to wire walk over U.S. 41 in Sarasota

Nik Wallenda in Niagara Falls, Canada, June 13, 2012.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/01/17/4354387/aerialist-nik-wallenda-wants-to.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

King of the High Wire Nik Wallenda has permission to wire walk over U.S. 41 and across the bayfront in downtown Sarasota Jan. 29.

The Sarasota City Commission approved the stunt at its last meeting. Wallenda's walk will cross roughly 600 feet of open space at a height of 180 feet in the air from the Unconditional Surrender statue to the top of the Marina Tower building, reports our partners at Bay News 9.

The anticipated Sarasota skywalk will be attempted without a net.

The Florida Department of Transportation will close traffic and allow the wire over the Tamiami Trail for the 10:30 a.m. event.

Wallenda, a Sarasota native who lives in the area, holds a $20 million insurance policy, claiming it covers mental distress if anyone witnesses him falling.

Wallenda is a six-time Guinness world record holder for aerial feats.

He wire walked across Niagara Falls last year.

'We could die,' Nik Wallenda, age 12, on life as a daredevil 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/01/17/4354387/aerialist-nik-wallenda-wants-to.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

—AP story used in this report.

—AP Photo by David Duprey

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/01/17/4354387/aerialist-nik-wallenda-wants-to.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy